A Poem Made of Water

By Ibtisam Barakat

The biology teacher said thatpeople, all people, are mademostly of water. . And I understood thatall of us, like water,have been through so much:fell from the sky..spent nights in the middleof a dark ocean..cleaned dirt out of clothesand dishes of all kinds..had to freeze in wintersand simmer under covers,and be put in cubes andhit countless timeson kitchen counters..And I understood whywhen someone’s tears fallI feel . . .

Note: A Poem Made of Water" was written on a plane, after a conversation with a friend, and was first performed at the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, March 2009. It has been read to many audiences around the world, and is printed in the poetry-and-art anthology INTERPRETATIONS, by the Columbia Art League, 2013. Photo is by Ibtisam Barakat, of Stephens Lake, Columbia, Missouri.